BLEACHERS BREW EST. MAY 2006

Someone asked me how my blog and newspaper column came to be titled "Bleachers Brew". It's like this, it's an amalgam of sorts of two things: The bleachers area in the stadium/arena where I used to sit when I would watch baseball, football, and basketball games and Miles Davis' great jazz album Bitches Brew. That's how it got culled together. I originally planned on calling it "The View from the Big Chair" that is a nod to Tears For Fear's second album, Songs from the Big Chair. So there.

Friday, September 26, 2014

My thoughts as Emirates EK019 was on its descent at Manchester
International Airport? I survived the long 15-hour plus trip.

I am not a stranger to long flights. I have done this so many times
before. But I hate it because I have travel sickness. So part of the trick
there is to get an exit row set and preferably by the window or next to the
aisle. Wasn’t able to get those seats on the first part of the flight (was in
the middle seat of exit row) while on the last leg I was on the aisle. That
helps when stretching or when I need to get up and walk around.

On the way to Dubai, I struck up a friendship with Rasheed, a
Pakistani who is married to a Filipina and both work in Saudi Arabia. He sat
next to me and was drinking Gatorade Green Fury (the limited edition flavor
with Leo Messi on the label). I asked him if he liked it and he said it’s the
best flavor Gatorade has. He was pleasantly surprised that I work for
Gatorade. Plus, I showed him my hand carry luggage that had the G logo on it.
So we passed the time by chatting about our respective lines of work.

Once on the airplane, we were in different sections as I sat in the middle of the plane while he was all the way in the back.

Had lots of films to choose from the flight's excellent selection but I chose to watch that 1980’s film, The Outsiders starring C Thomas Howell,
Ralph Macchio, Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze, Emilio Estevez, and Matt Dillon.
Also in the film were a young Diane Lane and early 80s singer, Leif Garret. I bought the book a long time ago when I was in high school and saw the film later on. It's like a who's who for young and upcoming actors. Imagine that power cast now. And it was good seeing it again although I can now see the flaws in the script, the pace, or even the acting. But still it's right out of those Casablanca type films that I love.

The food as always was excellent. Excellent service. One of the
stewardesses is even a dead ringer for Scarlett Johansson! Passengers were
lining up to have their pictures taken with her. I wanted too but inabot ako ng
ka-torpehan.

I didn’t have to wait much for the Dubai layover. Just an hour. Sat
next to a couple from Leeds who talked about football too.

Watched X-Men: Days of Future Past for the first time as I missed
it during its showing in Manila. Loved it! Thought that Bryan Singer did a
great job. And the food was even better on this flight.

The sun was setting when the Emirates flight descended into
England. Got to see from the window the sun going down.

While getting my passport stamped at Immigration, the Officer asked
me about my trip and I said I was off to Liverpool to watch a match. And he got
excited real quick that we ended up chatting for several minutes as the queue
behind me wasn’t amused. Turns out he is a LFC fan (but he isn’t originally
from Manchester though as he is from some other place that I couldn’t make
out). He got real thrilled for me when he saw the letter where I am to avail of a hospitality package from Liverpool and Standard Chartered (Thanks, Ms. Nimii and Anne). "And a derby," he exclaimed! "Now they have to win to make it special for ya."

The one-way ticket from Manchester to Liverpool cost me £14.
Took the train at Platform 2 (Heald Green, Gatley, East Didsbury, one stop
whose name I didn’t get, Manchester Picadilly, and Manchester Oxford where I switched
to another train that went through Warrington Centre, Widness, Liverpool South
Parkway and lastly, to Liverpool Lime Street where I got off).

People were most helpful in pointing me to the right direction (the
maze of corridors and platforms). Strangely though, one of the security
officers working the exchange station for the trains wasn’t sure what platform
I should be on for the Liverpool Lime Street stop. Luckily, one couple who were
on their way to the same destination pointed me in the right direction.

It’s
about 9:20pm when I arrive in Liverpool. And my first meal on English soil?
Burger King (at the train station). Haha.

The
hotel where I am staying for four days in Liverpool is the Britannia Adelphi
that is about a three-minute walk from the train station.

The hotel reminds me of L’Fisher in Bacolod City. It has the same
feel and ambiance to it. It has definitely seen better days but really who goes
on tour to stay in a hotel? Sucks thought that there is no wifi in the room and
I have to work at the lobby to make use of the internet. Walking along the corridors of the sixth floor, I can hear some of the floorboards creak. The lift is painfully slow that if a zombie were after me I would have been a meal for the bastard before the doors close shut.

Got a few hours of sleep before I went down early in the morning to
use the internet. The lounge sure is quiet.

So it’s officially Day One of my Here, There, and Everywhere Tour
of the United Kingdom. Will get up early for breakfast then head to Anfield
where I will take the Stadium Tour after which I’ll take one of those Beatles
taxi tours.

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Who am I?

What I do for a living?

I also write regularly for Business Mirror; philstar.com; abs-cbnnews.com, and rappler.com.

I am also currently the media officer for the Filoil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup, the National Basketball Training Center, and the Flying V Davao Thunders.

I do PR consultancy for a variety of clients that I do not want to divulge.

I used to teach journalism at the Ateneo de Manila University hand have given lectures about journalism, new media, marketing, and public relations at the Ateneo, UP Diliman, UST, San Beda, Immaculate Conception Academy, Miriam College, Mindanao State University, FIFA seminars, and a few other schools and organizations.

I used to write for the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Philippines Free Press, and Maxim Philippines. I have also contributed to FHM, Men's Health, Tower Sports NBA, Rebound, and a few other sports, interior design, and lifestyle magazines as well. Most recently, I was the editor-in-chief of PBA Life, the Official Lifestyle Magazine of the Philippine Basketball Association as well as Season 40 edition of Hardcourt, the season-in-review.

My blog, Bleachers' Brew, serves as a hub for many of my writings (but not all as there are some that are exclusive).

When I have free time, I listen to my collection of over 5,000 CDs, read, watch DVDs, or walk my dog around the subdivision.

Liverpool FC

My all-time favorite football team. I bleed Liverpool Red.

Books in my collection: Mad World

CDs in my collection: Movin' Up Movin' On

A compilation of some of the best underground punk rock bands in the Philippines.